Sorry to sound snarky, but this is such a first world problem. Another solution would be to not accumulate, even if it means refusing toys from relatives. We didn't have a lot of storage, but not a lot of toys either, so none of this was ever a problem.

I was watching this house tour for a family that lives in a very small house with four kids and what they did is they have concealed sterilite bins that can be shoved under the couch or under the bed. I thought that was kind of genius. https://youtu.be/DRyqiiH41nc

Anonymous wrote:Now it's toys, when tweens it'll be sneakers and hoodies. And then they're gone. I know it's hard to believe, but you WILL miss their clutter. I swore I wouldn't - I was wrong. It isn't so much missing their clutter, it is missing them!

I don’t mind the clutter really, it’s more just that it makes the play time better. Excitement of new (old) toy and play space that isn’t chaos.

Anonymous wrote:My concealed toy area is the garbage can in the garage.

Nanny here and I always advise my clients to keep most toys inaccessible because having more stuff does NOT mean they play better. It just means they get more overwhelmed when it’s time to clean up.

Now it's toys, when tweens it'll be sneakers and hoodies. And then they're gone. I know it's hard to believe, but you WILL miss their clutter. I swore I wouldn't - I was wrong. It isn't so much missing their clutter, it is missing them!

Storage ottomans have been a huge help to contain toys. Also big fan of a closet for rotating toys. Mine locks which is even better!

The dumping phase is short. I like the cubes now because I toss stuff in and after a few weeks, I throw it away for real! Yay!

My concealed toy area is the garbage can in the garage.

Yeah, I agree. We’re drowning in toys right now and rotating doesn’t work because the kids can see the toys.


For what it’s worth, I also would definitely forego a den and have a dedicated playroom.

If I could go back and talk to my former self, I would say to design the nursery and play spaces with mostly concealed toy/book storage. I would do a closet or cabinet with room for lots of bins, maybe a high shelf for books. And then a smaller, low area for several books and toys at a time. I did too much “accessible” shelving and that just leads to dumping.

Anyway in case this helps someone. Basically I would forgo cube storage in favor of an armoire, or something. Maybe a guest room closet fitted with shelves. Then you can rotate stuff in and out.